Fateescape dawn
by Mirai no Eiyuu
Summary: Yeah, redid it. A Fate/stay night fanfic 15 years into the future, following the possible Ilya Route. New and old Masters fight for the Holy Grail. Can Tohshiro Samori obtain it? Or will lose his life trying to? Rating subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

I hate to admit it, but I reread my fanfic, and I saw glaring errors. Instead of just fixing those errors, I decided to chunk it and start anew. So, here we are.

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**Fate/escape dawn**

**Chapter I**

I like the cold. However, it is only because it is not hot. For some odd reason, cold never felt unpleasant to me. When the wind blew on my face, it never stung nor tore my skin. Of course, I feel the sensation known as "cold." I would never get that pain that people complain about after they pour warm water on their hands after they've been out on a winter night. I've never even gotten a cold. I've been sick with other things that children and teenagers commonly get every now and then, but never colds or the flu. In fact the only reason why I wear a light jacket during the winter is because people used to constantly ask me if I was freezing to death or on some kind of religious fasting.

Perhaps this is because of my specialty, or maybe my specialty exists because of it. I am a Mage, specifically an Eismeister, a Master of Ice. Notice that I did not say "magician" or "warlock." First of all, none of us call ourselves "warlocks," and "magicians" are completely different. I'd rather not go into detail here, as this is getting rather too long even for _my_ exposition, so I'll just say this: Magecraft (abilities used by Mages) is like fire, and True Magic (abilities discovered and/or used by Magicians) is like a space shuttle.

I run into the empty locker room as I take off my shoes in mid-step while cursing under my breath. I get to my locker as fast as I can. I open it, take out my school shoes and put my outside shoes in the locker. Then, I hurriedly put the others shoes on as if I was on fire. I rushed to the main building, nearly flew up the stairs, and tiptoed into my class just as the bell for home room chimed.

Slipping into my chair, taking off my stuffy jacket, and panting very, very lightly, so as to not alert anyone of my sudden and late appearance, I took out a pencil and piece of paper to write anything of importance during home room; I probably did that merely as a gesture of respect towards the teacher, Mr. Ryuudo, a bald man in his early thirties. Well, I think he's cut his hair due to the Buddhist teachings. He's a priest, even if his somewhat odd antics don't betray this fact.

As he entered the room, he told the class representative to say the bows. He did and we complied.

"Stand!" We stood.

"Bow!" We bowed.

"Greeting!" We greeted with "Good morning, teacher!"

"Be seated!" We were seated.

In other words, my day was progressing like it did everyday. No worries.

When the first break period started, I looked to the left of my desk to find Roger Clements, a good friend of mine. His dark skin and dreadlocks showed that he was not born here in Japan; he was born in America, somewhere in New York, I think. He was holding a large book his right hand as he scanned the pages at an amazing speed. I couldn't get a good look of the title on spine or cover. The binding, however, told me it was bounded in the Western style, and, sure enough, the pages were in English.

"Morning, Roger. What are you reading?" I asked him. He didn't answer. This was typical, as when he has his nose in a book, you can detonate an atomic bomb near him and he wouldn't bat an eyelash. I asked again, this time a bit louder. This time, there was a reaction from him. He opened his eyes a milimeter or so more, and turned to me, pushing up his glasses.

"Ah. Good morning, Mr. Samori. I am reading _Foundation_, by Isaac Asimov. I believe an accurate word for title would be _Eidan_." Ah, I've heard of that book. More importantly, you may notice an odditity about his speech. Except to his sister (who he speaks to in English anyway), he always uses polite speech forms, never even using first names and adding -_san_ to surnames. It's not because he's that bad at Japanese; it's just his personality, I guess.

"I'm the third best in the class when it comes to English, besides you and your sister, so you don't have to tell me what it means. Anyway, isn't that a sci-fi novel? I don't think I've seen you with anything other than a fantasy one. What's with the change?" I said. This was true. It's quite ironic, as he himself is a mage, but a much better one than I. At this, he gave a sigh.

"My sister tells me that I should something other than fantasy. 'You have very narrow interests,' or something of other." he replied.

It was almost the end of the break and the start of English class, when Mr. Ryuudo came in the room with a student. It was a girl. She looked almost like a doll, somehow. Not because of her stature; she was of avarage height, maybe a little taller. However, her blue eyes did not shed one clue to what she was thinking or feeling. Her long, white hair flowed to her lower back and looked as if it could be a treasure all on it own. She obviously was a foreign exchange student of some sort. However, the most tantalizing thing about her were her beautiful eyes. I couldn't stop looking at them. It was as if they put me at peace.

"Now, class I'd like you to meet a new student. She is from Germany, so I'd like you all to show her the ropes."

I started to get an odd headache. It was an oddly familiar kind of headache, but I could not put my finger on what it was.

"Now, young miss, can you introduce yourself?" the bald priest-teacher said.

The headache grew, along with fatigue. All the while, I couldn't let my eyes stray from the girl's.

"Yes, I can surely introduce myself." she said, in fluent Japanese. Her speech was a bit rude to a teacher that I respect.

My fatigue and pain increased. I put my hand on my head, trying to keep myself awake. _I shouldn't fall asleep. I don't want to have that dream_. I was at my limit. Something was wrong with me. This familiar pain took away all my strength and I could not even alert anyone about it. The girl took a step closer to the class. Her eyes were even closer and that merely increased my tiredness.

"I am from Germany and my name is Emelie -"

I could not hear her last name. My mind slipped into sleep. The second it did, I knew I would see it. _That dream_. I blacked out.

Red. There's nothing but red. It looked like a mixture of fire and blood. Every nerve cell in my body is screaming out in pain, yet it does not come. It never does. This was "pain" in the purest sense of the word.

However, this was merely a tiny cut compared to what happened next. I saw faces. Hundreds of them. Each one screamed out in pain, as if they were experiencing the same thing as I. I looked at nearly all of them. I could tell. They were "branded" with a sin. I did not see "murder," "thievery," or "adultery" scarred to their faces. Rather, I _felt_ "murder," "thievery," or "adultery" merely by looking at them. It was all I could feel besides the pain. Sin. Sin. Sin. _Sin. SIN._

I opened my eyes to see a white ceiling. I looked around. "The nurse's office," I said groggily. I saw Roger and Shirley, his sister, with her brown braided hair nearly touching the floor, right by me, sitting in chairs. I started to get up.

"Ah, Toshiro-kun! You're up! Gave us quite a scare, you did! Glad to see you awake. However..." Shirley grabbed my blue gakuren shirt collar after she said this, but I did not gasp as I kind of half expected her to do that. "If you faint again like that, I'll have to forcibly wake you up! I have my ways!" Shirley has... a way with words. She is the opposite of her brother. In other words a genki girl, and it really shows up in her speech. Oddly, she uses "boku (I, me, my)," even though she's a girl.

"Mr. Samori, I am happy to see that you are all right. However, I must ask: what happened exactly?" Roger said, looking at his sister as she nearly strangled me.

I thought for a second. No, the only thing I could think was that dream. The dream I've had every night since I was a child. As I did, all I wanted to do was go home. Home.

Without answering Roger, I got up from the uncomfortable bed. Roger and Shirley tried to stop me, but I can't remember what they said. As I exited the room, I saw that girl again, the new transfer student. She followed me with her head as I passed. I did not stop to look at her eyes.

I don't remember much as I walked home to the Samori mansion. It's called a mansion, but it's mostly just a very large Western-style house.

I remember opening the door. As always no one was home. My butler, Ryogi must be out shopping. I preferred it that way. I plopped onto the nearest chair in the living room.

I looked at the clock. 1:57. I must have been unconscious for a while. Today was not very good. For the first time, I had that dream during the day, the dream I have almost every night. I might have hit my right shoulder as well, when I fell onto the desk. It's starting to hurt and tingle quite a bit. In fact, it may have been bleeding.

"Great," I said. Another that I have to deal with.

I spent the next few hours staring at the ceiling. Staring. And thinking about the dream.


	2. Chapter 2

Phew. Done with chapter 2. It was quite a hassle. Just to be clear, my German's not perfect, so if anyone can proofread that, it'd be great.

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**Fate/Escape Dawn**

**Chapter 2**

I sat there for quite a while. When I looked at the clock, it was around 5:30. The sun was setting, revealing the winter night sky. I decided to do a bit of reading. I can't sit here all night, brooding.

Thinking that, I got up from the chair and headed to the door to the attic at the end of the hallway connecting the dining room and the living room. It was a small door that you almost had to squeeze through. it was locked from the inside.

I placed my right hand about three centimeters above the doorknob. I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply. I concentrated on my hand, charging Magic energy into the door. Then, I spoke these words:

_Himitsu e no tobira yo, onore no takara wo nusumase ni kagi wo akeyou_

(O, door to secrets, open so that thy lock may plunder thy treasures.)

I heard a click, meaning that the door unlocked. I opened it, then closed it behind me.

I walked up the steep flight of stairs towards the attic. When I reached the top, I flicked on the light switch next to me and the room was filled with dim light. There were papers and boxes everywhere, scattered as though someone had robbed the place. It always looked like this. There was a desk and rolling chair a little farther in. On the desk, there were even more boxes. These boxes were usually the ones that I was rummaging through last time.

I waded through the mess and placed myself into the chair and randomly took out a book from one of the boxes. The book's title was "History of Atlas and Alchemists." Meh, a history book; not my taste. Another choice was "The Treasures of the Holy Church - Volume 3 - A Look into the Spear of Longinus." Sounds interesting, but I'm not in the mood to hear about the Holy Church now. The next book was "On Mystic Eyes: A Collaborative Study." This seemed a bit more interesting.

The table of contents was as thus:

I. The Eyes that Can Bind and Charm (written by Lord El-Melloi II)

II. Mystic Eyes that Affect Objects (written by Fujino Asagami)

III. Other Common Mystic Eyes (written by Rin Tohsaka)

IV. On the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception (written by #7 of the Burial Agency, Ciel)

The last one looked the most intriguing, so I turned to its page.

_I need to go to school, so I can get my things_.

The writing style looked oddly formal. Thinking that, I started to read.

"The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception belong only to an unknown human living somewhere in Japan. Using the eyes, this human has the ability to kill anything that has a 'death,' whether it is alive or not."

_**I left my stuff at school. I really have to get them or else**__._

"The human, whom I will be referring to as 'he,' perceives death as lines and points. By tracing the lines of an object or living thing, he can cut along the line without effort, making it impossible to regenerate that part without changing its concept. By piercing a point, he can immediately activate its death."

_**I have to go to school**_.

"It is currently unknown how he achieved the Mystic Eyes of - "

_**GO TO THE SCHOOL**_.

I put the book down. The only thing in my mind was "Go to the school." I couldn't find any reason _not_ to go. I walked down the stairs, locked the door with the usual Magecraft, then left the house. I was in a daze as I walked through the cold night towards the school.

For some reason, the gate was open. However, I did not wonder why. All that I wanted to do was go to the school. Go to the school. I walked into the main building without putting my shoes on in the locker room.

I trudged upstairs and into my classroom. This is when it hit me. Someone's been using Suggestion Magic on me. That's what the headache I had earlier was from.

I knew that whoever did this was somewhere around here, so I left the classroom. However, what I found startled me.

It was the girl, a few meters away from me. It was the girl that transferred from Germany. Long, white hair, a beret, a school uniform, and a cute face. I don't think I'd forget her that easily. What's she doing here? While I was forming this question in my head, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Tohshiro Samori, age 18. You are a Mage of Fuyuki City, are you not?"

I gasped in confusion. She's a Mage? Wait, of course she is. She's the one who put the Suggestion spell on me. I stood my ground, trying to hide my confusion

"Yeah. What's it to you? Who the hell are you?" I asked her, ignoring the pain in my shoulder. She looked at me for a few seconds with disgust in her eyes, then looked downward.

"Lancer, ich werde ihn kämpfen. Vermittle nicht." Is she... talking to herself? My confusion increased as she spoke in fluid German that sounded beautiful coming from her lips.

"Dann, ich werde mit ein Befehlzauber dich ordnen." She spoke again, then went silent for a second. "Gut. Dann..."

She looked up, her eyes on me with viciousness. I really did not like where this was going. The next thing she said was in Japanese, but just as fluid and beautiful.

"Tohshiro Samori, prepare yourself!" she yelled. She took a single step toward me, and I merely took a step backwards in confusion.

Let's analyze this situation. Okay, number one: This girl, Emelie, used Suggestion Magic to make me come here. Number two: she is insane enough to talk to herself. Number three: It seems she hates me. And, lastly, number four: If I don't try to get a hold of the situation, I may die a horrible and untimely death.

"Wait! Why don't we talk about this? No, first of all, I have no idea why you made me come here." I said to her.

"Do not try to play dumb, Narr! If you do not reveal your Servant, I will fight you myself!"

She ran towards me, and I could feel Magic Energy being charged into right arm. This is not good. I didn't have time to think of a spell to use. The girl opened her mouth, apparently using a spell.

_"Brenne meine Feinde, mein Feuerrotschwert!"_

(Burn mine enemies, my Blazing Red Sword!)

Those words were also charged with Magic Energy. He hand glowed red, and as she neared me, a long rod of flame came out of her fist. So, she wants a sword fight, huh? I don't spar with Ryogi every weekend for nothing.

She was three arm lengths away from me. I had to think fast. When she came into range, she held the sword made of fire into the air and swung it downward. I jumped to the right, then pushed onto the wall to gain leverage. She gasped at my speed. I needed to make distance so I could make a spell myself. I could feel the heat of the sword. No doubt, the center was much hotter.

I ran as fast I could in the direction I was facing. I could tell her distance by the heat of the sword, so I should be fine. I run pretty fast. But not fast enough. I could tell she was much faster than me, but if I can get some distance I should be all right.

I got around 10 meters away when I could hear her footsteps coming towards me. I turned around, then focused on my hand.

_Itetsuita tetsu de kire_

(Slice with frozen steel)

A sword made of ultra-concentrated ice formed in my hand. It may even be able to take the heat from the center of the girl's sword. However, that may not be enough if it has no form. It'll only be like trying to stay dry in front of a sprinkler with a stick; it will only go through it.

No time to waste. I could see the whites of her eyes, so I dashed towards her, my light but durable sword in one hand. With a "HYA!" I swung it upwards, trying to hit her hand. I'm not that heartless, so I'd prefer not to kill her unless it comes to that.

Instead of blocking me with her sword, she simply pulls her hand back. Ah, so it doesn't have substance. That means two things: I can't block her, but she can't block me. I give a few more swift swings at her hands and legs, but it would be easier if I aimed at her torso. However, I'd like some answers first.

For a second, I realized that she was going to do something. She was focusing on her left hand. She must have been trying to form another flame sword. I had an answer to that. I took a step backward and put my left hand forward.

_Kaze yo, fukitobase_

(Blow away, o wind)

A gust of wind shot out from my hand. You could say that ice Magecraft is a combination of water and wind, so I have a pretty good idea how to use those as well.

She was pushed back around 10 meters, her flame sword extinguished due to surprise. I got rid of mine as well. Maybe this was the time to get some answers.

"Okay, so who are you? Why are trying to attack me?" I said.

"Humph." She merely grunted, then took a fighting stance. "I see it will take a bit more. Then I have no choice."

I could feel a change in the air. She was gathering mana, the Magic Energy contained in the atmosphere. This was done to use very strong magic. I knew a few myself, but ice is the opposite of fire, which generates more energy, more heat. Ice takes it away. That's why Eismeisters can use ice magic more quickly.

Emelie started to breath deeply. I took a stance and did so as well. If it's a battle of pure power she wants, it's a battle of pure power she gets. We both said our spells at the same time. Each had two verses.

_"Für mein lordend Feuer, erfasse Lauf"_

(Gather heat for my blazing fire)

_Waga na no moto ni, teki wo kohritsuke_

(In my name, freeze mine enemy)

I recognized the spell she was using, and I smiled with satisfaction; the spell I was about to unleash had an advantage. I got ready to put my diabolical plan into action.

_"Brenne, versenge, brich aus, meine Hölle!"_

(Burn, scorch, erupt, my Inferno!)

_Kohri yo, chikara no sa wo omoishirasero!_

(O ice, let them know the difference in power!)

A circle of flame formed around the girl, and perhaps a split second later, a large diamond-shaped wall formed in front of me. A torrent erupted from the girl's circle, going straight for me, and hundreds of shards of ice the size of bowling balls came from my ice shield. This was my chance to put my plan into action.

I RAN FOR IT! You see, after my spell activated, it would continue automatically, while her spell made her immobile. Both of our spells would take around fifteen seconds to finish, more than enough time for me to lose her. I loved this idea, it so brilliant. I can't wait to see the look on her -

ZZZZZ!

I stopped running and fell to the floor, unable to move. I must've hit a wall. No, walls don't sound like electricity when you hit them, and if they did, I'd have to have a talk with the school's architect. No, this was a barrier Emelie put up, perhaps expecting me to run away. I could hear both spells dying down, then stopping with the sound of steam.

I could hear and see perfectly fine. Only my movement was stopped. I heard her footsteps coming towards me. Oh, crap. I am going to die. She was right next to me, and I could see her shoes and beautiful legs. But there's something else I could see. A man, perhaps, wearing blue leg armor. Blue leg armor? That barrier must've made my head funny. Where'd he come from?

"You have impressed me, Narr." What does "Narr" mean? I can't think it's anything good. "If your Servant was here, it would have attacked me. Therefore, you did well on your own. I shall spare your life. But, I will take your Command Spell."

Spouting things I didn't understand, she started to mess with my hands and arms. What's going on?

"There's... no Command Spell... Only the beginnings of one."

The man spoke up, his voice calm but coarse. "There is no use killing him or taking his arms now. If he does not have a Servant, it will not count. Leave him."

"I was planning to do that. It appears you were not playing dumb, Narr. Nein, ich war eine Narr. Let us go, Lancer. He will fall asleep in a few seconds, but he will awake fine in a few hours."

Leaving me with those words, she got up and left. I could see the man more clearly. He had long, black hair and was very large, and wore blue armor. Alongside of him, he held a long stick with a cloth sack attached to one end.

I started to get tired. In a few minutes, I lost to sleep.

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Well, there we go. I wonder if anyone can guess who Lancer is. Constructive criticism, please. Don't go easy on me! *puts on armor and cowers*


	3. Chapter 3

**Fate/Escape Dawn**

**Chapter 3**

I don't always have that dream when I sleep. It's just that it's so rare to remember any other dream, that it seems like the fire and blood cloud my sleep every night. When I have a peaceful dream, the occurrences of which have increased over the years, it is like a godsend. I wake up refreshed and happy, instead of in a sweat and groggy.

This was one of those dreams. I don't know how many times I've had it, but it's oddly familiar. I think that this dream is from my memories. I don't really know, since my childhood is a bit foggy, even more-so than most people.

Judging by my size in the dream, I was about six or seven. My father was sitting by me, on the swinging bench on our balcony. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell that he was kind man just by looking at him.

"Listen, Tohshiro. This world takes things away from us. It is not because it is cruel or angry at us. It's just... reality," my father said. This may not seem like a peaceful dream, but compared to the dreams of sin, it was Arcadia. I just looked down, feeling sad. I did not feel tears welling up, but my eyes stung, telling me that I must have cried until I dried up. Looking back, the dream felt quite realistic.

"However, you can take them back, with work. Not like a job, or something like that. I mean that you must use effort to retrieve them. Whether it be your lunch money, or a dog, or..." He didn't finish that sentence. He merely sighed, and placed his hand on his head, as if thinking.

"Tohshiro. You can do special things. Not just your normal magecraft, but something more unobtainable. If you can train that, and put it to good use, you can bring back anything you want. Do you understand what I'm saying?" he said. I merely shook my head "no."

"You will know in due time." He patted my head. It was nostalgic, and it replaced my frown with a smile.

I opened my eyes. I looked up, and found myself not on the floor in the school hallway, but in a bed, a canopy bed, to be exact. Wait. A canopy bed? There aren't any canopy beds in my house. Thinking that, I looked around.

I was in a western-style room with brown, wooden walls and yellow, flower-design drapes. There was no such room in my house. Therefore, I was not in my house, but in someone else's. _Gee, nice deduction there, Mr. Holmes_, I thought to myself.

I struggled to sit up, as there were more blankets on me than I'm used to. When I finally sat up, I heard a door open and looked to my right.

A woman stood at the doorway, wearing a red blouse, with what looked like a cross design in the middle of her chest, and a black formal skirt that reached just at the knees, with long, black hair flowing down to her lower back. She was quite young and pretty, but with an odd air of maturity.

"Ah, you're up. You must have had a rough fight, huh?" she said. Her voice was both playful and concerned, an odd combination.

"Who are you? And, where am I?" I asked her. She pouted.

"Isn't customary to tell your own name before you ask someone else's? That's a bit rude, don't you think?" Okay, _this_ was full of playfulness and had no hint of concern whatsoever. I had an odd feeling that I wasn't going to enjoy this conversation very much.

I sighed, as I gathered up my concentration to completely wake up. "Tohshirou Samori. The 'toh' of 'winter,' the 'shi' of 'samurai,' the 'rou' of 'son,' the 'sa' of 'cold,' and the 'mori' of 'forest.' Need any more info, ma'am?" I tend to be quite grumpy in the mornings, and this was no exception.

She smiled, as if satisfied with my response. "That's more like it. But don't call me 'ma'am;' I'm only 33." Wow. I must admit, the years have been good to her, whoever she is. She doesn't look a day over 22. "Anyway, I'm Rin Tohsaka. The 'rin' of 'freezing,' the 'toh' of 'far,' and the 'saka' of 'hill'. Nice to meet you," she said.

"Likewise I guess," I responded. "Anyway, can you answer my other question? Where am I and why am I here?"

"Well, I guess I can save what I have to say after I answer. You're at my house, the Tohsaka mansion in Miyama. I just returned here this afternoon from England to do a few things, so I noticed you when you left. You had a Suggestion Spell on you, so I had a familiar of mine follow you. It alerted me when you were about to get killed, so I came after you," she said.

Ah, know that I think about it, I do feel very strong Magic Energy from here. Wait, Rin Tohsaka... That sounds oddly familiar.

"Ma' - I mean, Miss Tohsaka, do I know you from somewhere?" I asked. She smiled triumphantly.

"Well, I am the famous Tohsaka of the Clock Tower, and I used to be the Second Owner of Fuyuki City." I remember now. I've read a bit about her. They say she's extremely close to recreating the Second True Magic.

"Ah, you are quite famous, huh. Glad to see I was in the hands of someone capable. Sorry for the snark earlier," I said.

"Don't worry about that. However, it's time to get into the matter at hand. First off, do you know why that girl attacked you?" she asked me. I thought for a second. She said something about a 'servant,' but I have no idea what she meant.

"Sorry, but I have no idea. I have no idea what this 'servant' is either," I responded. She sighed with a look of annoyance on her.

"How nice, another one. I thought I could get away from an experience like this fifteen years ago." She seemed quite frustrated, but then took on a look of serious. "You have been chosen as a Master to fight in Heaven's Feel Six, or the Sixth Holy Grail War."

Wow, how blunt. Ah, but there is one thing I still don't get. Oh, wait... it's everything. These thoughts were plastered on my face. Miss Tohsaka made another sigh.

"Oh great. I have to do this all over again. Although, the circumstances are a bit different," she said. Okay, I've had enough. I decided to voice my query.

"Miss, I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, with an obvious hint of annoyance.

"Fine then. I'll only say this once, so listen carefully," she responded as she sat down in a chair near a tea table. I took the blankets off of me and sat with my legs dangling off the bed. Miss Tohsaka assumed the face of seriousness she had a moment ago. "First thing's first. Heaven's Feel, also known as the Holy Grail War."

"Wait, you said 'Holy Grail' earlier as well. Do you mean that chalice that Christ supposedly poured his blood during the Last Supper?" I asked her.

"No. It is a different grail. However, the idea of the Holy Grail of Christ most likely stems from it. It is a more ancient artifact, a container of omnipotent power. Heaven's Feel is a war between Mages to gain that power." I felt more interested in what she was talking about. What would one do with omnipotence, the power of God himself? I have no idea. Just having it would be great. As a Mage, I felt compelled to have that power. However, as a person, I don't think I'd have any use for it. I listened further to her exposition.

"There are seven Masters. Each one summons a Servant with the help of the Holy Grail. Well, the truth is a little different, but just believe that for now." Oddly cryptic. "Each Servant fight each other. However, it is much easier to kill the Master, who supplies the Servant with Magic Energy. No Master, no Servant." That last bit of information kind of got my hopes down. I don't mind fighting, but I'll say "no" to dying any day. I decided to interject a bit.

"So, how powerful are these 'Servants?' If they're provided with Mana by the Master, wouldn't they be Familiars?" I said.

"Ah, they could be classified as Familiars, but they're on a whole other level. I forgot to mention this, but the summoned Servants are always mythological heroes. Well, there are some exceptions to both 'mythological' and 'hero,' but that's quite rare. They're called Heroic Spirits." Again, I butted in to her exposition, but for a different reason.

"Wait... Mythological heroes? You mean like King Arthur, Robin Hood, or, uh, Odysseus?" I said. She thought for a second.

"Well, there are many exceptions. Sometimes, a Servant can be summoned because they were famous for killing. But, that's the gist of it." _Okay, this is getting weird_. I made a face of complete disbelief.

"Hold up. How can a human, even a very powerful Mage, supply enough Mana for a mythic hero, much less summon one? How do you know any of this stuff anyway?" I said, making it clear that it was starting to sound corny.

"The Holy Grail makes it possible. A phenomenon such as Heaven's Feel can be said to be on the level of True Magic. I know all of this because I was once a Master as well," she responded. _Sure, someone else apparently believed it and attacked me, and this woman is the Mage that is closest to True Magic in the modern era, but this is really hard to take in, I thought._

"Believe it or not, it's true. There's more to it, but I think you're smart enough to understand soon enough. Any questions?" she said, apparently finished with her explanation.

"Why, yes. Can you prove any of this?" I asked. To this, she smiled mischievously.

"Of course. Archer, show yourself to him," she said with her playfulness from earlier. I felt a change in the air to my right, near the bedpost, and looked towards there. I jolted and fell onto the ground. There was a man there, a tall man, of a strong build. He wore a golden headdress and golden armor on his legs. He wore no shirt, but wore a quiver on his back. This was a startling sight. It spoke with a calm voice.

"I am Archer, Servant of Rin Tohsaka. A pleasure." "L-likewise, I'm sure." After I made my greeting, he disappeared in thin air.

"Servants are Spirits, so they normally take on that form when they're not fighting. Now do you understand?" Miss Tohsaka asked. Okay, this 'Archer' certainly doesn't seem human, but that doesn't mean that he's a mythological hero.

"Kind of. So, this is your Servant? I've never heard of a mythic hero named 'Archer'," I said.

"Ah, that's his Class Name. In order to keep the identity of a Servant secret to other Masters, the Servants are placed into seven classes, depending on their specialty: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker," she said. I'll just play along to further the conversation.

"Okay, let's say, _hypothetically_, that this Heaven's Feel is real, and so is this Holy Grail. Why was I chosen to be a Master?" I asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea what the criteria are. Even true amateurs can become Masters. Last time, a Master summoned his Servant completely by accident. What I'm certain of, is that one must be a Mage to be a master. Apparently, the Holy Grail chooses them," she explained. I sighed.

"So, what do I do now? How do I summon a Servant, if I've been chosen as a Master?" I asked. Miss Tohsaka looked surprised.

"I didn't expect you ask that. However, there is a ritual, but it's a bit difficult to learn. Like I said, a Servant can be summoned by complete accident," she said.

"In that case, show me how, exactly. Even if I don't completely get it, I might as well play along until I do," I said.

"Are you sure you wish to do that? You will be killing other people, human lives. You could be killed as well," she responded, looking serious.

"I'm a Mage, even if a bit amateurish. Don't they say that death is always right by us Mages? I don't really think I can kill a human head on, but if I am attacked, I'll show no mercy," I explained. Miss Tohsaka smiled as if satisfied by my response.

"In that case, we'll have you summon a Servant," she said. She then beckoned me to follow her as she left the room. _Might as well go_, I thought. We went through what looked like the living room, then we walked to what I think ws the back of the house, then going down a staircase leading downwards.

The stone-walled room must've been both her basement and workshop, as I could feel large amounts of residual Magic Energy. On tables near the walls, there were beakers and other scientific utensils. These weren't really used for science, but for Magecraft. In the very back of the dim workshop, I could see what looked like a summoning circle. Perhaps she used that to summon her Archer. Miss Tohsaka moved to one of the tables, picking up a huge bag from underneath it. She then took things out of it. There were numerous swords, shields, arrows, and even something what looked like bark from a tree. One of the swords, a blue one decorated with gold, was broken in half. When she finished placing them on the ground in front of me, she got up and showed a face of triumph.

"Okay. These are catalysts that I got from the Clock Tower. They let me use them to summon the Heroic Spirit of my choice. Now, pick one. Each one has a relation to a Heroic Spirit," she said.

"Well, which ones are they? How do I know what I'll get? I really don't recognize any of these," I replied. Miss Tohsaka looked confused and then sighed.

"Sorry. I'll tell you the most famous ones. This red, flower-shaped shield is Rho Aius, the shield of Ajax. He will most likely be a Lancer or a Berserker. This arrow is the one that killed Chiron, shot by Hercules. This is a piece of the tree were the sword of Sigurd was placed. Oh, and this one..." She pointed to the broken blue and gold sword. It was a magnificent sword, probably very famous when it was in one piece. "... is Caliburn, the sword in the stone that King Arthur took to become king." I widened my eyes at this. Everyone knows the legend of King Arthur, the King of Knights. With him on my side, I may not need to worry about dying as much.

"I will take Caliburn. However, with King Arthur being such a famous knight, why didn't you use it?" I asked.

"Oh, that? My last Servant was Archer, so I think I may prefer them. I did try to summon Saber last time, but I failed. Instead that idiot got her," she said. I merely tilted my head at this. She may be a first-classed Mage, but she is odd. She kneeled down and picked up the broken sword, then placing it in the middle of the summoning circle.

"There's some residual Magic Energy in this circle, so we can use it again, and with little effort. I don't have time to teach you the ritual, so just concentrate and put as much Magic Energy as you can into the circle. It might hurt and it will definitely be bright and windy, but bear it," she explained. That's it? That's how to summon the greatest hero of European myth? A little anti-dramatic, I thought.

Regardless, I walked over to the circle and kneeled down, placing my hand on its edge. I'm not the best at transferring Magic Energy, as ice Magecraft merely takes it away. However, I breathed deeply, concentrating on the circle and my fingertips. I forced a large amount of my Magic Energy into the circle, thinking of nothing else but that.

I started to hear sparks, but I ignored it. My spine started to feel hot, as if a white-hot blade was stuck in my back, but I ignored it. Wind hit my face with force of a hurricane, but I ignored it. After around thirty seconds, all of this stopped, but I ignored it.

"I ask of you. Are you my Master?"

I couldn't ignore that.


End file.
